Scope and Content Note

Subseries 14.2 contains material concerning Philip Jaffe and
Amerasia from the files of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI). In 1980, the Special Collections Department initiated a
request under the Freedom of Information Privacy Acts (FOIPA) for all materials
in the files of the central (Washington) office of the FBI related to Jaffe and
to
Amerasia. Application was made at the same time for
a waiver of all duplication fees, but that request was subsequently denied by
the FBI.

In 1981, this department informed the FBI of Jaffe's death and
asked that they search for and release of appropriate documents in the FBI
files be expanded to include materials that would not have been released in
Jaffe's lifetime. The FOIPA request was broadened again to include FBI field
office files, and the FBI reported locating pertinent materials among the
records of the field office in New York City (NYO). Limitations placed on the
FOIPA request by this department included the exclusion of such "public sources
of information" as newspaper clippings and of Legislative Branch materials
including committee prints and
Congressional Record extracts.

The FBI’s Document Classification Unit (DCU) began review of
material in September 1981, and the first material released was received in
Special Collections in November 1983. Appeals have been filed concerning
material withheld by the FBI, and material released on appeal has been added to
this subseries. It is standard practice for the FBI to return to other
government sections or agencies documents originating from these agencies so
that the agency of origin may make the decision concerning release. Documents
thus released have been received and interfiled in this subseries. A small
number of documents for which an interfiling location could not be determined
are filed by agency name at the end of Subseries 2.

The papers in this subseries are photocopied correspondence,
notes, memoranda, and reports from the FBI surveillance of Jaffe and his wife
and associates and from the FBI's files of other data gathered about Jaffe and
Amerasia. Upon review of these files by the FBI,
certain portions not to be released have been marked out or deleted completely.
The files have been retained in the original numbered sections in which they
were received and these sections are arranged in numerical order.